LJYB back in the swing of things

By Tom Murphy

La Jolla Youth Baseball

La Jolla Youth Baseball spent the last week dusting off some cobwebs from Spring Break, but a lot of home runs were recorded too, so some kids went to the batting cages over the break. The next four weeks will really define the season and things get more interesting with tighter games, a more competitive atmosphere and of course, some drama.

In Pony’s interleague play, all three LJYB teams — SDG, RBC and Rotary — are playing .500 ball. RBC and Rotary had an exciting game that included a three-run homer by Johnny Agbulos and a solo shot by Casey Mariucci to knot the game at 7-7. In the final inning, Austin Caulk hit a sacrifice fly to score his brother Chris to end the game in walk-off fashion 8-7 in favor of Rotary. Kevin Boermeester also hit one out for SDG over the weekend. On the Bronco Field, On the Inside Design is making their move with back-to-back wins over Mission Imprintables and Las Patronas. Sterling Hayes recently hit his first home run for Aladdin along with his slugging teammate Garrett Brown, who now has five to lead LJYB in that category.

Mustang is known for long games thanks to the introduction of live pitching. The transition from the pitching machine to shaking off that first “bean” can define a lot of players. Sometimes base running looks more like the Keystone Cops, but these Cops allow a lot of stealing. Mitch’s Surf Shop remains on top with a 7-1-1 record and continues to lead in runs scored and fewest allowed. Morgan Stanley and Pharmatek have matching .500 records, which explains why their last game went back and forth before Pharmatek eeked out an 11-10 win in extra innings, holding their opponent scoreless in the last two innings.

Pinto is ground zero for drama and with 12 teams in the division, there is no shortage of opportunity. Retirement Benefits Group, managed by Jim Duffy, is leading the pack and is the first team to score over 100 runs to date. In the last week alone, the following scores have been posted: 16-15 (Patterson Bike over RAK), 17-16 (SD Pools over PacVentures), 11-10 (Solis Chiropractic over Sector 9), 12-8 (RBG over Voices for Children), 18-17 (RBG over SD Pools) and 20-15 (Capital Growth Properties over Garden Communities in a real land grab.) With games this close and unlimited runs in the 6th inning, there is plenty of drama to go around. Inside-the-park home runs are not recorded in “Homer’s Alley,” but there were plenty and you can be certain that a lot of game balls were handed out for them.

Reminder:

PONY Day at Petco is this Sunday with the Phillies taking on the Padres. Last year, more than 400 LJYB kids and their families attended the game and enjoyed a parade around the field before the game. This year everyone will be sporting their new Padre uniforms so don’t forget to purchase your tickets at

www.LJYB.org

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